EDITORIAL: Consider sea level in coastal planning

Published 12:00 am, Saturday, March 10, 2012

The legislature's Environment Committee is looking to the future with its consideration of how to lessen future destruction from hurricanes and a rising sea level. Pending legislation would give municipalities and the state the authority to consider the rising sea level and its impact on proposed construction.

The legislation assumes a sea level rise of 2.4 inches a decade. Over a century, such a sea-level increase would profoundly reshape the state's shoreline. It is better to plan for that possibility than ignore it or deny the effects of global warming.

A rising sea level will only amplify the devastation if a major hurricane hits the state. Tropical Storm Irene had sustained winds of less than 70 mph. A Category 3 hurricane has sustained winds of more than 100 mph.

The legislation has raised concerns that it would lead to unfair government confiscation of land. However, the main concerns are tides and storms tearing away land or leaving it submerged.

The legislation would allow homes -- such as those destroyed by Irene in the Cosey Beach section of East Haven -- to be rebuilt, unless the land under a home is lost or any part of a building is located at the mean high water mark -- both reasonable provisions.

An additional provision may require modification. It would bar rebuilding if a home had been significantly damaged in a storm. The Nature Conservancy has suggested instead that damage of 50 percent or more in a previous storm could be considered by a town in approving, denying or imposing conditions on reconstruction.

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The bill also aims to discourage the construction of sea walls. In some instances, sea walls can increase flooding and exacerbate the erosion of land, including tidal marshes. In written testimony submitted to the Environment Committee, Karen M. Gilvarg, executive director of New Haven's City Plan Department, noted that getting permits for the rebuilding of Morris Cove sea walls is "nearly impossible," although the area has been repeatedly flooded. New Haven wants more protection for shore areas dedicated to water-dependent uses.

Unlike the federal government, Maine or Rhode Island, Connecticut law omits any consideration of a rising sea level in state or town planning regulations. The devastation caused by Irene last August was a reminder that state and town coastal management laws and regulations need updating.